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7.4 running or relaxing?

S

sooo

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7.4: The legion encamps to the left. Without fault.
An (or your) army needs relaxation too. Discipline cannot endure without pause, make a balance.
(Changes to hex.40)

I like the idea of camping to the left (in LiSe's translation) as time off for rest and recreation, rather than, or in addition to the usual one of running away or pulling back to save ones ass while still engaged in battle. It's interesting that those brief intervals are referred to as "taking liberty"; and 7.4 changes to 40 - liberty, liberated. "Taking leave" refers to a longer allocated holiday, and has the same 40 connotation. Feels so good to be set free from that uniform and its responsibilities for a time.
 

my_key

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Hi Bruce
I like the 'taking liberty' rather than 'taking leave' point of view.
Line 4 is the line of choices where we have the opportunity to really stand in our power. To make the brave choices that perhaps go against the grain or our traditional patterns of behaviour.

In the Hex 7 context this may even be being generous to ourselves and giving ourselves a break from the old habits. Being gentle on ourselves for even a short while. Organising our forces can be a really arduous task at times and it's so easy to carry on regardless. Carry on in a mindless fashion like we always have done in the past.

As Wilhelm says " It is by no means a sign of courage or strength to insist upon engaging in a hopeless struggle regardless of circumstances."

So for me there is definitely a relaxing rhythm to this line. Relaxing into something and chilling out.
It's perhaps a bit like taking a skinny dip - letting it all go and all hang out.:blush:

Relaxing into our power through admitting our own limitations rather than running away from them. And suddenly there we are in Hex 40 land.
 
S

sooo

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Hey Mike,

Line 4 is the line of choices where we have the opportunity to really stand in our power. To make the brave choices that perhaps go against the grain or our traditional patterns of behaviour.

LOL, yes, like getting good and drunk and/or laid. Just sayin', that's what young soldiers and sailors do on liberty. There are the rare and evolved souls, as well as the faithful. For them, there's always a good book to read, or someone special to write to. It's hard to get deep into a foreign culture within the limits of liberty's boundaries anyway. I was fortunate to meet a cultured mate, who was interested more in snorkeling reefs than the usual stuff sailors do. Once, we caught a train out of Naples metro (city of thieves), and disobeyed orders by traveling deeper into the heartland, to meet real people, not jaded from the constant sailor traffic. We went into a local store, and when they found my grandparents were from old Naples, they treated us like kings, feeding us at their table. A deeply felt experience. So, yes.. like you said, it was a bold and rewarding step outside liberty's established limits. Hadn't considered that.
 
S

sooo

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Forgive my rambling on this subject, but after reading what are now yesterday's thoughts, I'm resigned, considering a broader battlefield, which but for these breaks from our daily duties, too of much life is spent in rank and file, following orders.

In-between the grunts and the elite is a layer all its own. They're the glue that binds the army together, the tough and usually unseen true grit. (water within the earth)

Such was Arnie, the Division Petty Officer, in charge of navigation. He knew his stuff. He was the only one aboard who could casually assess the sky, and know pretty much where he was. With the charts and sextant, he'd be utterly reliable. Arnie also was outright the least verbally sexually discriminate aboard, which also fit his nature of drunken brawling, and never losing. By the end of many nights, he rose to legendary proportions, because, no matter how much trouble he got himself into the night before, no matter how banged up (um, in more than one way) he'd be, he was on time for his watch, and still easily twice as competent as anyone aboard, including the Div. Officer, his, um... boss. To this day, Arnie remains a legend to those who served with him aboard that vessel.

But it's not just Arnie. It's a tough layer of Arnies, like Kevlar, that assures ones integrity and safety, regardless of what bombs life may toss at you.
 

my_key

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Hi Bruce
It sounds like Arnie was a bit of a legend in his own lifetime. Your ramblings have got me thinking about what liberty really means so I raced off to the nearest on line dictonary

Liberty Meaning and Definition



  1. (n.) The place within which certain immunities are enjoyed, or jurisdiction is exercised.
  2. (n.) A privilege or license in violation of the laws of etiquette or propriety; as, to permit, or take, a liberty.
  3. (n.) A curve or arch in a bit to afford room for the tongue of the horse.
  4. (n.) The power of choice; freedom from necessity; freedom from compulsion or constraint in willing.
  5. (n.) A privilege conferred by a superior power; permission granted; leave; as, liberty given to a child to play, or to a witness to leave a court, and the like.
  6. (n.) The state of a free person; exemption from subjection to the will of another claiming ownership of the person or services; freedom; -- opposed to slavery, serfdom, bondage, or subjection.
  7. (n.) A certain amount of freedom; permission to go freely within certain limits; also, the place or limits within which such freedom is exercised; as, the liberties of a prison.
  8. (n.) Leave of absence; permission to go on shore.
  9. (n.) Freedom from imprisonment, bonds, or other restraint upon locomotion.
  10. (n.) Privilege; exemption; franchise; immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant; as, the liberties of the commercial cities of Europe.
Interesting that line 4 in this dictionary was about the power or choice. Funny that.
There's many of these different meanings in what you have written so far.

It's interesting that for Hex 7 I've not just seen it applying to the armies /armed forces but also to some sort of inner army that we as individuals have to learn how to lead and manage in our own unique way. Arnie sounds to have developed his unique way that inspired awe in those around him. Living his life to the full in a very overtly extreme way that was absolutely right for him. And maybe not absolutely right for all those who looked up to him. The way he lived his life had a robustness about it, almost an air of indestructability.
I've known similar people in non-forces environments and wonder ...........Was it the freedom of his personal choices that he showed that was the inspiration to others rather than his actions themselves?

Maybe it is as you say " too much of life is spent in rank and file, following orders." and someone who looks life squarely in the face and chooses to do his own thing and live with the consequences really does walk in Hex 40 land. Where as LiSe says that freedom is to be innocent and the noble one pardons transgressions and is lenient towards crimes.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, they've help me see things a bit differently.

Mike
 
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rosada

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I think it's useful when trying to decipher, and especially when trying to memorize, the meaning of these hexagrams, to look for a pattern of opposites in the lines. That is, the second line tends to in some way be the opposite of the first and the third will often be the opposite of the second, etc. Thus..

7.1
A WINNING PLAN / NO SUCCESS
(that is, the plan has not yet been put into practice. It is still just a plan)

7.2
A WINNING PLAN / SUCCESS
(A winning plan manifested will be a win, good fortune.)

7.3
A LOSING PLAN / NO SUCCESS
(A loss, misfortune.)

7.4
A LOSING PLAN / SUCCESS
( a wise retreat)

7.5
WINNING PLANS AND LOSING PLANS TOGETHER / NO SUCCESS
(No winners, no winners, total chaos, destroying the village in order to save it, survival of the fittest.)

7.6
WINNING PLANS AND LOSING PLANS TOGETHER / SUCCESS
(A win-win situation. A winning plan wont win, wont last (6.6) unless it also accommodates the losers.)

-Rosada
 
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